When choosing a boat, you think about many factors. Where will you go? When will you be out on the water, and for how long? Who will be with you -- will you be alone, or with your partner, or with your extended family and guests? How much do you want to spend?
The Antarctic is a very different environment from a South Pacific lagoon. A large family has different needs than a single-handed sailor. Some love racing on a lake and others dream of making landfall at an exotic island rarely visited by outsiders. And for a few, the ultimate thrill is to feel the deck beneath their feet and know that they built it with their own hands.
There are many reasons for wanting a custom boat. It is not usually the cheapest way to get out on the water, or the quickest. If the boat you really want happens to exist already, and is available for purchase, you should certainly go ahead and buy it!
On the other hand, your needs and desires may not be those of the average boater -- the customer most production boats are designed for. You may want more, perhaps much more, or in some cases, much less than the typical skipper. You may just "think different".
For example, I wanted a small boat -- the smallest that could safely and comfortably cross oceans and circle the world under power. Most boaters want the biggest vessel they can afford. They want the most speed, comfort and luxury they can get. Yet we all know that in addition to a boat's construction cost, its upkeep, moorage, fuel and other operating costs rise rapidly as length and displacement grow.
I wanted to keep those costs low, and that meant keeping the size small. I also wanted to cruise shallow inlets, rivers and canals. That meant a shallow draft and a low profile. And I wanted to be able to trailer the boat to inland waterways and from coast to coast without needing hauling permits, or making the long run through the Panama Canal. There was (and still is) no production boat on the market that meets these requirements.
For years, I never even considered the possibility of designing and building my own boat. "Only millionaires could afford to do that", I thought. And even if I could afford it, how could I be sure it would be safe in a storm, or even float level at the dock? What if I overlooked something important, and wound up with a giant planter instead of a boat, up to my eyeballs in debt and the laughing stock of my neighborhood... It seemed much less risky to just buy a proven production boat and live within it's limitations.
It was less risky. And it was a great way for me to get started and learn the ropes. To learn what I liked and didn't like. What I needed and what I wanted to avoid in a boat. But eventually, it wasn't enough. I wanted more. I wanted a boat that was really my own, built to do what I wanted to do, the way I wanted to do it.
All the fears and nightmares I had were real possibilities. They had actually happened to others. But I was lucky. Many generous people shared their wisdom and experience with me so that I didn't have to make the same errors. (Of course I still made my own mistakes, but they weren't the big ones that leave your heart pounding, your head spinning, your hands sweating and your wallet hemorrhaging.)
And now it is my turn to share these hard-won secrets with you.
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